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Steve Spott didn’t return from Ufa, Russia, with a world junior medal for Canada.

The Kitchener GM and head coach took his share of lumps for it.

“It wasn’t his fault,” Rangers captain and Canadian defenceman Ryan Murphy said. “The games were won and lost by the players on the ice.”

Murphy knows one thing might silence the naysayers and salvage his coach’s most high-profile season to date.

Beating the Hunters.

Knocking out the defending OHL champion London Knights in the second round of the playoffs would resonate throughout the hockey world.

“We want to win it for him,” Murphy said. “Last year (when the Knights swept the Rangers in the Western Conference final), we didn’t have as much depth as London. We were worn down from going seven games against Plymouth in the second round.

“This year, we feel like it’s a different situation.”

Spott will still have to outfox not one, but two Hunters, on the bench this time.

London GM Mark Hunter is assisting Jeff Paul on the defensive side of the puck. The Knights held Saginaw to seven goals in four first-round games and shut down top snipers Eric Locke and Garret Ross without the services of captain Scott Harrington.

The Rangers finished the season as the lowest-scoring Western Conference playoff team.

“Our D play can get better yet,” Mark Hunter said. “We have a few things to clean up and Kitchener has got all their firepower back. It’ll be a good test for us.”

The Knights believe Mark’s presence has provided the club another jolt of confidence.

“We won with him,” Knights overager Tyler Ferry said. “He was our leader last year and we won the OHL and came within one goal of winning it all (the Memorial Cup). Having Dale and Mark on the bench, you can’t get any better.”

Rob Ramage, now a scout with the St. Louis Blues, guided London’s defence last season. He and his fiery old Stanley Cup-winning mate Mark Hunter provided a nice balance.

“Rob was very patient and worked the kids though situations in games, telling them that things are going to happen and to keep your cool and keep playing,” Hunter said. “That’s not easy to do in junior hockey. He did a good job of that and as everything goes, you learn off people.

“Everyone has a different style. You want to keep getting these kids moving ahead.”

The Hunters know Spott’s pedigree way back from their battles when he assisted Peter Deboer, now the New Jersey Devils coach, in Plymouth before both joined the Rangers.

“Spott is a good coach,” Dale Hunter said. “They’re going to be prepared and it’s going to come down to who executes.”